a variety of ways for looking at shame

  I have been actively learning about shame for a couple of years now, and I wanted to compile the resources I've gathered.  I've posted on the topic a couple times before, but I wanted to gather the resources in one place.

Video

- Brene Brown's 'Listening to shame' has been invaluable in my learning; first, you should listen to her first TED talk on vulnerability first.  This would be a wonderful way to spend your time; I've listened to them each multiple times.

Two Books 
- Roland Muller's Honor and Shame (summary) - This book is probably a great place to start on the basics of a shame-based culture.

- Ed Welch's Shame Interrupted - This book is a beautiful place to begin examining our own shame in light of God's Word or sharing God's hope to those who are in shame and despair

Blog posts 

- Scripture is about Our Shame - the basic Gospel story of shame

- Jesus the Shame-Bearer - thoughts on what Christ did for us

My Speculations

Law-based culture says something is wrong according to the group's rules.

Shame-based culture says something is wrong as it is negatively effects group members?

Fear-based culture says something may have bad consequences for the individual or group?

Empathy is the antidote to shame.  Brene Brown

Related post:
Honor, Shame, and Slanting Theology

The odd notion of 400 Silent Years

  A fair number of unsupported (or poorly supported) assertions wander about in popular Christian theology.  One that I read or hear relatively often is the idea that there were '400 silent years' between Old and New Testament times.  Now, we can certainly estimate that there were 400-430 years between the writing of the last book of the OT and the birth of Jesus Christ.  But why would we state without proof that those years were silent?

Simeon & Jesus

Anna & Jesus

   Some might say, "God didn't speak during that time."  But Scripture doesn't say that.  In fact, the opposite is hinted at, since Simeon had been told that he wouldn't die till he saw the Messiah, by the Holy Spirit. (Lk 2:25-32.) Beyond that, people didn't appear particularly surprised when Zechariah's sees a vision (Lk 1:22), quickly guessing that that's what happened.

  Or, someone might say, "There were no prophets during those 400 years."  Scripture doesn't say that; and it does say that there was a prophetess, Anna (Lk 2:36-38).  It seems quite unlikely that she had only begun being a prophetess a year or two before Christ's birth.

  As a final defense of this concept, it might be suggested that for 400 years, there was no authoritative Scripture recorded. Certainly that would seem to be true, but this is a very different claim from 'silent years.' If this is the case, we should probably use a number greater than 400, since even an early dating for 1 Thessalonians, Matthew, James, or Galatians would make the count close to 450-500 years.  Yet, wouldn't it be ludicrous to describe many of those years as silent?

  I realize that is a very narrow point to make, but do we really believe that God was silent for 400 years?  Prophets or prophetesses and Scripture were not speaking? to say nothing of the Spirit of God who even in the darkest times never leaves Himself without a witness! Sometimes the voice of God is 'rare' or 'precious' in its scarcity, but I see no evidence of silence, particularly in a ~400-year epoch where Scriptures simply do not tell us authoritatively what happened.